


Collision

by thatACDCchick



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Fix-It, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-09-22 22:57:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17068778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatACDCchick/pseuds/thatACDCchick
Summary: Keith receives a mark out of the blue on his wrist. A mark that seems to lead him towards Shiro and despite his best efforts to resist temptation, he can't help but give in.





	1. The Mark

The water ran scalding hot over Keith’s wrist but he could no longer feel its sting as he scrubbed at his skin. There  _ had  _ to be a way to get this off. It  _ had  _ to be a mistake of some kind. Teeth grit, he dug his fingers into the ink-black design staining his flesh and rested his forehead against the mirror. 

“Why is this happening?” He muttered to himself before a knock on the door made him jerk.

“Keith, buddy. You in there still?”

“Y-Yeah, I’ll be right out, Shiro.”

When his eyes opened, he saw that the mark was moving again. Shifting and twisting towards the door as if it were some magnetic liquid being manipulated by some outside force. The sight made his heart sink down into his stomach like a rock. 

‘ _ Go away. Please, just go away _ ,’ Keith thought to himself, though in his despair, he couldn’t tell if he meant the mark or for the man the mark was being pulled towards.

After what felt like an eternity, Shiro spoke again. “Alright, then. Just make sure you join us soon cause we’re all waiting for you out there.”

“Right. Yeah. Like I said, I’ll be right out,” Keith replied, doing his best to hide how worn out he felt.

He wasn’t completely sure when the mark first appeared; given just how busy he and the other Paladins have been for the past few weeks. The sleeves on all of his clothes usually cover this area and when he showers, he doesn’t exactly stand there and examine himself when he needs to be out and ready in a snap. One day, it just seemed to appear out of nowhere but it wasn’t until he noticed that it started to move that he started to freak out. And when he pieced together that it was moving towards Shiro… that freaking out turned into pure panic.

This was  _ Shiro _ . The man was responsible for so much of the good that’s happened in his life. He had seen the potential that not even Keith saw in himself and stuck around even when Keith did his damndest to shove him away. Giving him every opportunity to leave just like everyone else in Keith’s life at the time. Instead, Shiro had won out in the stubbornness contest; managing to worm his way through the glares and insults. He was warm and kind and caring and-- no. No no no. He couldn’t be in love with Shiro.

He couldn’t betray the best thing that’s ever happened to him. Not this way. Not ever.

\--------------------------------------------

“Hey, it’s about time you showed your face!” Lance was the first to notice Keith’s entry though the last to see that anything might be wrong.

“Everything alright? You took a long time getting here,” Pidge blinked up over the screen of her laptop as Keith pulled out a chair and took his seat.

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

“Did you get sick or something? Is it gas? If it’s gas, lean towards Hunk and not me, okay? I told you not to add those weird berries to dessert, Hunk--.”

“I said  _ it’s fine _ !”

The room fell silent at Keith’s outburst and every set of eyes was now trained on the pilot; even Lance looked up from the doodle he was drawing on a napkin of what might be Allura if one were to squint really hard and tilt their head at a ninety degree angle.

Shiro stared over at Keith for a few seconds longer as the silence stretched out before finally clearing his throat. “Right… let’s get on with business, shall we? We’ll be leaving Earth soon to continue the Voltron Coalition's mission on liberating the universe from the last of the Galra Empire….”

The meeting between the five Paladins and Shiro continued on without much incident. Most of the time Keith was silent, only responding to questions and giving little input as his mind wandered in circles and always coming back to the same thoughts and realizations no matter how hard he tried to concentrate.

When the meeting concluded, Shiro tried to catch the Black Paladin’s arm on his way out. “Hey, mind if you stay back and chat for a bit?”

Keith had to resist the urge to recoil as even though his wrist was covered by the long sleeves of his uniform and there was a bandage wrapped tightly around the area, he could practically  _ feel  _ the mark moving on his skin. Shifting as if reaching out to the elder man in a way that made his fingers twitch at his side. He swallowed hard and looked away from the elder, shame boiling his stomach and making the nape of his neck prickle.

“Yeah, sure. What’s on your mind, Shiro?”

“It’s just that… you were pretty quiet today. Is everything okay? No one’s been giving you trouble or anything, have they?” 

Dark eyes closed and without realizing it, he gripped the marked wrist in his free hand to keep it from reaching out and making contact with Shiro. “I’m fine. It’s just nerves… you know, since we’ll be leaving soon and all.”

He could feel Shiro’s eyes as they bore into him in the way that always made him feel like the other was looking into his soul. Seeking out the truth under the words on Keith’s tongue and picking out what he wasn’t saying outright. He always seemed to have that strange ability, ever since Shiro took him under his wing all those years ago.

“Okay. Well, if you ever wanna tell me what I can do to help those nerves, you let me know. I’m here for you, Keith. I always have been.”

A shiver rolled down his spine at those words and it took all his strength to move his feet away from the other. “I gotta go… check on Kosmo. See you later.”

He refused to look back and see the exact expression on Shiro’s face, but he could feel the worry on his back as he made his way down the hall towards the nearest exit. This was such a mess.


	2. The Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith tries to clear his head but Shiro interrupts for a little chat.

The light spilled a golden-red over the horizon as Keith sat on the head of the Black Lion. Ever since defeating the Altean Robeast it had become his favorite spot to sit in solitude when he just needed time to himself. Time to think. Normally the space wolf was with him but right now he was off stretching his legs and enjoying the sprawling countryside while he still could. Leaving Keith to just sit and pick at the frayed threads coming off the bandage wrapped around his wrist. 

He didn’t mind the alone time, not when his head was still such a mess thinking about the mark that refused to go away. The way it had pulled him so hard towards Shiro and spoke volumes about the truth inside his heart. 

The worst part wasn’t that he’d been marked by some strange force or even that it was pointing him towards Shiro.

The worst part was that it was completely true. He loved Shiro… and he had for a long time now.

At first he thought it had just been the kind of love he’d had for his father. The only other person in his life that cared about him for the longest time until Shiro found him and refused to leave him the hell alone. He’d resented it at first, of course, but over time the man’s refusal to abandon him changed something in him and worked its way into his heart. 

It hadn’t been until he fought Shiro’s clone that he realized the truth in full force. When he was pinned on his back with blades locked with the man that meant the world- the universe to him. When he had called him “brother” and said that he loved him, Keith realized how wrong it felt to call him his brother. Shiro was so much more to him than just a brother in arms.

Now that this mark appeared on his wrist, he couldn’t deny the truth the way he had been since that fight. It was as if his feelings were being displayed for everyone to see. His heart was literally on his sleeve when he was supposed to be a Paladin of Voltron. He had a job to finish instead of sitting around pining for his closest friend.

“So this is where you’ve been,” said a voice. Cutting right through his train of thought and making Keith jump as he turned around to see Shiro climbing over the Black Lion’s head. “I’m guessing Kosmo’s doing fine after all?”

“Yeah. He’s doing great.”

“But it seems like you’re not doing as great.”

Keith’s lips pressed together, his silence saying more than any lies could.

“Look. I can’t force you to tell me what’s bothering you if you don’t wanna tell me. But if this is gonna be a problem, it might jeopardize things. A lot of things. I need you to figure this out before we leave. The  _ universe  _ needs you to figure it out.”

Dark eyes clenched shut at these words. He knew this. Understood it all. That’s what made it all the worse.

“.... The thing is-.”

Just as he’d worked himself up to tell the truth, Hunk’s voice called out to them from below. “Hey, guys! So this is where you’ve been hiding! You know dinner started like half an hour ago, right?”

“Yeah, Hunk, we know. Don’t worry about it, we’ll be there soon,” Shiro called back down before turning to Keith. “I’m sorry, you were saying?”   
  


But Keith was already grabbing onto the handholds moulded into the Black Lion’s head to climb back down. “Hunk’s right. We should get to dinner.”

“Wait- what? Keith!” 

But it was too late. Shiro was left alone on top of the Lion that had once been his own. A groan rose from his throat followed by a drawn out sigh. Running his good hand down his face, the former Paladin laid back on the warm metal and closed his eyes. 

“What am I gonna do about him?” He muttered to himself. 

This was far from the first time Keith’s stonewalled him like this, but that didn’t make it any less tiring. Still… it’s not like he was going to abandon him. They’ve been through so much together and knew each other better than anyone else on the team. When he was being held by the Galra, his thoughts and hopes always ended up circling back to Keith and what was happening to him on Earth. With the break up before the Kerberos, Keith was the only person left on Earth that truly meant anything to him or would miss him and once he was finally back by his side, despite the mountain that still laid before him, he felt all the more ready to climb to the summit. Then when he was lost in the Void after their initial defeat of Zarkon, Keith had been the biggest anchor holding his sanity in place.

Ever since their return to Earth, however, things have felt distant between them. They’d traveled across the universe together (okay, yeah, the rest of the Paladins and some extra travelers were there, too, but that was beside the point) but it was as if the distance they’d traveled from wasn’t just between the final showdown against Lotor and home but between himself and Keith. He’s tried to be patient, to give the younger male his space and let him figure things out in his own way but… it just wasn’t working. 

And it felt like he was running out of time. 


	3. Flashback

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During a training session, Keith remembers a time from long ago that may or may not have kicked off his crush on Shiro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to finish this chapter to have it posted for Christmas but sadly that didn't happen. ;o;  
> Happy New Years however!

“Bring up a level five combat situation. Hand to hand. No time limit.” Keith’s fingers tapped through the options that appeared on screen to further refine the parameters of the drill.

Despite leaving for dinner, he’d barely been able to get a few bites down before the guilty churning in his stomach made him leave. Now he was in one of the training rooms on the Garrison in an attempt to work off some of the nerves. He’d already decimated the first few difficulty levels in multiple simulations and now he was looking for something a little more intense.

Pidge had done wonders to upgrade the training simulator in an attempt to help better prepare the troops for combat against the Galra. Though they’d held their own well into the occupation, there were still many things they were unprepared for or didn’t understand how to get around. Right now, it served as the perfect distraction to keep Keith from running. Whether it be running away or running to Shiro… he still hadn’t figured out just yet.

The simulation came to life with a hum of advanced electronics coming to life and from the sides of the mat stepped four practice dummies all armed to the teeth with both ranged and melee weapons. They wasted no time in firing on Keith but his instincts kicked right in to help him dodge out of the way. The movements came to him naturally. Weaving, dashing and ducking away from the weapons at close range while always keeping at least one sense trained out for any ranged attack coming his way. Within minutes the training bots were on the mat piecing themselves back together as they had been programmed to do before taking their place along the edges once more.

“You know, it’s still a bit of a surprise to see you move like that,” said a very familiar voice that caused Keith to jump as he was reaching for a towel. “But then I remember you technically got in two extra years of training without me.”

“I guess you’re right,” he replied with fingers closing on the soft fibers of the towel to bring it up to his forehead dripping in sweat. “Though there isn’t much training that can be done on the back of a giant space whale.”

“Well, you might say that, but as someone that’s seen your form from the moment you first picked up a blade… I can safely say you’ve improved,” Shiro insisted with a soft chuckle before he moved over to the console and typed in a few things. “How about we put those new skills to the test. It’s one thing against a robot, but you and I both know that a live opponent is a much different animal.”

“.... You sure about that? I mean we can always get one of the MFE pilots for me to beat up a bit if you wanna test my skills.”

Shiro was already grabbing a practice blade similar to Keith’s and stepping onto the mat, however. “Aw, c’mon, Keith. It’ll be just like old times.”

“Old times… right.”

Somehow those words brought back a particular memory from the past. When he first arrived at the Galactic Garrison for training. Normally he didn’t have trouble sleeping in new places having spent the years after his father’s passing being shuffled from home to home. Sometimes he was lucky to sleep in the same bed for longer than a week given what a problem child he tended to be. That night, however, something kept the young cadet from falling to sleep in his new cot. Even after putting little clippings of electrical tape over the stand-by light on his TV and using a sock to cover the bright digital readout of his clock to make the room as pitch black as possible he tossed and turned until eventually he threw back the covers and got dressed.

Being well past lights out but Keith wasn’t worried about being caught, though nor did he really have an idea of where he was going in the wee hours of the morning. After wandering for a while, he finally came across quite literally a light at the end of a long hallway and with interest piqued, crept towards it. He wasn’t even two feet away from the door when he figured out what was going on inside from the sounds of heavy breathing and soft, hushed moans. Though he was only 15, he wasn’t sheltered or naive in any way. The only mystery remaining was just _who_ was on the other side of the cracked door at this time of night.

A mystery that was dashed when he peered through the crack and saw a familiar broad back and strong arms embracing someone sitting on a table. Parts from a rifle was scattered about as if they’d been hastily shoved aside to make room for Adam whose head was tossed back, lips parted and face flushed as Shiro left a trail of open mouthed kisses along his neck. Adam’s hands were braced against Shiro’s strong shoulders as if at odds as to whether he should be pushing the other man away or pulling him closer while Shiro had a hand hitched up under the shirt of Adam’s uniform while the other was between their hips moving--.

Keith nearly fell back away from the door, a hand clapping over his mouth to stifle his gasp. Still he could see them in his head and hear the sweet sounds leaking from the man’s lips. As he heard another moan rise between the crack in the door, this one forming Shiro’s given name, Keith became painfully aware of the blush burning his face and the way his spine tingled.

_‘Gotta get out of here… right now,’_ he thought to himself, though his feet were barely working right and when he tried to take a step, he came into contact with a tray of spare rifle parts that might have something to do with why Shiro and Adam were up this late.

“Wait, Shiro… what was that?” Adam’s voice came hushed and breathy even as Keith grabbed the tray to quiet the noise.

He just barely had enough time to duck around the corner into the next room when he heard the door open a bit more followed by Shiro’s voice sounding much more in control despite what he was just in the middle of. “Hello? Anyone out here?”

Keith swallowed hard with both hands gripped over his mouth now, sweat dripping down the back of his neck as even the beating of his heart sounded way too loud.

Finally, after a long pause, “It was probably just the wind, babe. Get back in here and shut the damn door, would you?”

“Ahh, you’re probably right. Now… where did I leave off?”

A soft chuckle sounded and Keith was just barely able to catch the sound of the door closing before he finally relaxed. This time he was much quieter as he sprinted back for his room and dove under the covers. He was sure the run took no longer than a few minutes, but the anxiety from almost being caught and catching Shiro in the middle of… that drained him enough that the next thing he knew, the alarm was blaring in his ears and the morning announcements were sounding off from a speaker right over the television. The worst part of it was that even as he showered and changed into a fresh uniform, he was still wishing it had been him on that table with Shiro.

And just like that alarm had jolted him from sleep, his back being pressed into the mat jolted him back to reality and the sight of Shiro’s face looming over him with a playful smirk.

“That got your attention. I thought I was gonna have to dump water over you to get you outta lala land,” the elder teased before letting Keith back up to his feet.

“ _Tch_. Alright. No more Mr. Nice-Keith, though, old man.” With that he grunted and shoved the elder away before rolling to grab up the practice sword.

Shiro hardly seemed fazed as he rolled the shoulder of his prosthetic arm. “Old man? Wow, Keith. That really hurts me to hear you say that.”

“Yeah, you’re really looking torn up about it. Now show me what that new arm of yours can do.”


End file.
